Toronto’s police chief said Monday he is now seeking to potentially suspend without pay all seven officers charged in a sweeping police corruption probe.
“As of today, I’ll be seeking the suspension without pay for six to seven members who have been alleged to have committed criminal offenses,” Demkiw said at a news conference with Toronto Police Services Board Chair Shelley Carroll.
Demkiw previously said that he would seek the unpaid suspension of four of the seven officers who were charged.
Last week York Regional Police announced the results of Project South, a bombshell investigation that resulted in charges against seven current and one retired Toronto police officer.
The allegations against some of the officers include taking bribes, protecting illegal cannabis dispensaries for drug traffickers, identity theft, and accessing confidential information to facilitate a murder plot against a manager at an Ontario correctional facility.
Inspection to look at 45 Ontario police forces
Earlier Monday, Ontario’s inspector general of policing confirmed he is conducting an independent inspection of police corruption in the province in the wake of Project South.
Ryan Teschner, inspector general of policing for Ontario, confirmed the inspection at a news conference at Queen’s Park Monday, saying that corruption often spreads to other police forces.
“I am announcing an independent province-wide inspection into the ability of Ontario’s police services and boards to prevent, detect, respond to and fortify their organizations against corruption and ensure integrity,” Teschner said.
Since then, 3 Peel officers have been suspended in connection with the probe, though they have not been charged criminally.
Teschner said Monday “organized crime is insidious” and people need to have confidence in those who enforce the law.
“Incidents like these understandably shake public trust in policing more broadly, it’s important to acknowledge the real questions the public is asking, and the potential effect these questions may have on their confidence in Ontario’s policing system,” Teschner said.
The inspection will cover all 45 police forces in the province and will be conducted by an independent inspector appointed under the authority of Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act, the legislation that governs policing in the province.
The person who will lead the investigation has not yet been appointed.
“I think that there are some very qualified people right here in Ontario, and so I’m giving some immediate thought to who that may be,” Teschner said.
The inspection will look at five key areas, Teschner said:
- Supervision and span of control, including how officers are supervised and how effective that supervision is
- Screening and vetting of officers, both at recruitment and on an ongoing basis as they move through their careers
- Access to police databases and information systems
- Evidence and property management
- Substance abuse and fitness for duty
Teschner did not provide a timeline for the report, but promised that it would be transparent, and released publicly when complete.
Project South, an investigation into organized crime and corruption, remains ongoing and could result in further criminal charges.
The independent inspection announced by Teschner will not be aimed at uncovering specific cases of corruption, but will be aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of police services and boards in “preventing, detecting, responding to, and fortifying their organizations from corruption.”
The Toronto Police Service and the Toronto Police Services Board jointly requested the review in the wake of Project South and Teschner decided to make it a “sector-wide” review.
TPS adding supervisors
Demkiw said Monday a number of high-ranking sergeants have now been reassigned to 12-Division, which was hit particularly hard by Project South.
Demkiw said TPS will support the inspection “completely, comprehensively.”
He said the force will also continue to set up a working group to look at internal processes and practices “to ensure that we’re responding as quickly as we can” and “recognizing the work of the Inspector General may take some time.”
TPS Board Chair Shelley Carroll said she also welcomes the inspection. She said the board has known for some time it needs to beef up supervision at TPS and some improvements are set out in the 2026 budget that will be going before Toronto City Council tomorrow as part of a multi-year hiring plan.
“Even before we knew of Project South, we knew we needed to build on our supervision ranks and to actually tighten up on the span of control for each supervisor at every rank,” Carroll said. “And this budget that we will be adopting tomorrow allows the first step in that, and I think we all know now, as a result of Project South, that we must do that and more.”
In a statement Monday, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow welcomed the news of the inspection.
“On behalf of the people of our city, I want answers on how corruption could occur and continue undetected, and the systemic changes the Toronto Police Service must make to prevent this from happening again,” she wrote in a post on X.
